Following on from my two previous articles, ‘Be smart about stadiums’ and ‘Reduce or relocate teams,’ the driving financial forces behind the NRL also need to be addressed.
Television rights and advertising have been the main source of income for basically every sport since televisions exploded in popularity. Channel Nine has partnered with the rugby league for decades now, although ‘partnered’ is a term few could comfortably use. Controlled, perhaps.
Imagine it’s a Friday night, and tens of thousands of fans sit down in front of the television with a beer in hand. Kick-off is advertised at 7.50pm, so at 7.50pm the television is on and ready to go.
The panel is finalising their predictions, and almost exactly at kick-off time, we hear: “And now for the odds with so-and-so from our betting partner…” followed by a minute-long spiel about how good tonight’s odds are.
Then there’s a five-minute ad break. Then finally, ten minutes later than promised, the players start coming onto the field.
An accident? Definitely not.
Channel Nine and their betting sponsors knows that bums are on seats ready to go for the game. They know that all of these people are watching, waiting for kick-off, and it’s the perfect time to ram some ads down our throats.
Channel 9 commentators Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
We are being taken for a ride by Channel Nine and the NRL’s advertising ‘partners’.
In the 1950s, the number of televisions in the United Stated exploded, and this nearly killed baseball.
The income from television rights at the time was minimal, and Major League Baseball made most of its money through the fans coming in through the turnstiles.
The minor leagues were almost as big as the majors too, because there were more than 400 teams playing in towns all over the country.
Baseball fans who could not get to a majors game would almost certainly have a local minors team they would support. With television, most of these fans preferred to sit at home and watch the superstars, and rightly so.
Minor league attendances fell through the floor, the number of leagues was reduced by three quarters, and the entire system was only saved through affiliations with Major League clubs.
Television won’t kill rugby league, but it may well kill the attendance rates.
A serious question must be asked, then. Does the NRL actually care about crowd numbers?
They bring in a fraction of the revenue that stadium income produces. They schedule games at times that seem to actively discourage attendance.
Who in Sydney would work until 5pm on a Friday then make it to a 6pm game?
Why is there even a Thursday night game, other than for people having a quiet night at home watching television?
The NRL has sold half the soul of the game to Channel Nine and then are baffled when crowd numbers dwindle.
Are streaming services the way forward? Or, controversially, regional blackouts? This is a big question, but the NRL must find a way to control its own scheduling again.
The other elephant in the room are the betting and alcohol companies, and these own the other half of rugby league’s soul.
Consider, for a moment, the Benson and Hedges World Series Cricket, and the Winfield Cup. Both major tournaments held in Australia, both sponsored by tobacco companies, with both such sponsorships no longer permitted.
There is little doubt that betting ads will go that same way within a decade, and alcohol within 25 years.
Alcohol advertising is the most fascinating, and indeed contradictory. On one hand, alcohol ads are plastered on television, at stadiums, on jerseys. In the meantime, we have these outrageous alcohol-fueled incidents involving NRL players.
Players don’t drink and get into trouble because of alcohol advertising, but it is massively hypocritical for the NRL to slap players on the back of the hand for getting into alcohol-related trouble, only to use that same hand to draw from the deep well that is alcohol advertising money.
If the NRL was serious, it could reduce the need for reactive policies such as what has emerged in recent weeks, and start being proactive by addressing the toxic ‘boys club’ culture that exists, beginning by ditching its alcohol partners.
This does leave a huge financial hole for the sport. I am not an economics man, so this is where I open up the floor for debate. In terms of money, do crowd figures actually matter? What could be alternate sources of income for rugby league?
For my last two articles on the subject, I will be looking at a possible way to prevent off-seasons like the one just past, and look to end the annual contract circus.
Jay Wright
Roar Rookie
Actually Jimbo I’ll call Barry the Charlie Z of the roar, if you don’t know you Charlie Z is YouTube him an you see what I mean.
Bartparteeoo
Guest
But you do read them.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
I think it's woeful how the channels play with the starting times. State of Origin though is far worse. A 7.50 start is generally an 8.10 start.It compares quite unfavourably with Super Rugby and Shute Shield who normally start their games close to the claimed starting time.
Paul
Roar Guru
great first line BA
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
The simple fact is that players are over paid and the game (i.e. clubs) can't afford to keep pass with the almost exponential increase in player salaries where even some rookies (Kayln Ponga) receive $600K a season! Clubs will grow broke unless the NRL puts a cap on the current rate of growth in salaries. Look at Robert Jennings for example. After just one good season where he finished 3rd highest try scorer by virtue of the fact he was fortunate enough to find himself on the attacking edge in the competition. He suddenly felt he was worth $600K plus a season and found himself unsigned and forced to leave the club that gave him his success. Let's see how he goes at the Tigers.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
"The bleachers in baseball even used to be free," I remember growing up in Redfern in the 70's and how Redfern oval use to regularly open the gates at half-time and people would pour in to fill the ground to capacity (I'm just waiting for the inevitable anti-Rabbitohs propaganda). I assume that this happened at most grounds in the 70's. Personally, I couldn't miss the first half of a game. It's like starting a book half way through. You lose the context of the story and the structure of the plot.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
"the amount of unnecessary advertising for gambling in sport is borderline illegal" Just like cigarette advertising on TV up to the end of the 70's, Sports gambling advertisements are as much aimed at children and grooming the next generation of customers and is similarly destructive to people's lives. The whole "Always remember, gamble responsibly" means little to someone with a gambling addiction. You might just as well say drink responsibly to an alcoholic!
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
"can’t watch the footy with a Claytons and Pepsi Max" Depending upon where a person's team sits on the ladder some here may need something a bit stronger to numb the pain. Right TB? ;-)
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
You know that irony only confuses the male brain peeeko. We were made to do only one thing at a time but to do it well while others were made to multi-task and make a pigs breakfast out of everything they touch. Or are you pitching this to them because I see TB liked your comment already.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
Max, I think you are taking Jimbo too litetally and you just drew a literal line through a very satirical monologue that perfectly sums up counter arguments to issues others have been raising on a football forum that should ONLY be focused on sport and not civic or social justice issues. I'm sure Jimbo doesn't support violence against women or men who are looking to change their wardrobe. ;-)
Nat
Roar Guru
There's more truth in TB pointing out the b.s. that comes from mr multiple personalities. Not sure I've read anything about the game yet- from any profile.
Ad-O
Guest
Deadbeats will always find a pathway to mess up their life whether legal or illegal. Why should the majority have our freedom to enjoy something we like taken away to account for losers that are going to find a way to screw up anyway.
Jay Wright
Roar Rookie
I’d hardly call Barry the champion of the roar Jimbo. Not even in sarcastic manner
Mark
Guest
I don’t think your American friend has the faintest idea about NBA ticket prices. Go and have a look on the internet - even the cheapest NBA regular season tickets are around $50. Sitting in the bleachers at a Major League Baseball game has never been free either, and most teams go out of their way to stop patrons bringing in their own food, because they make money from selling overpriced food from the concession stands. US sports teams are run as businesses. They want fans in the seats but they want fans paying for the privilege.
At work
Roar Rookie
But players will have to accept lower pay as their only other alternative is the Super League or rugby. But many wouldn’t get paid as much as they’re currently enjoying, so I wouldn’t imagine they’d have many options.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
League is a game suited for TV, it is helped by close vocal atmosphere unlike AFL which is a spectator sport and encourages large crowds and grounds. Therefore local small grounds are the best. A packed Leichhardt, Belmore or Kogarah supports the game so much more than a sparsely populated Sydney Olympic Park. It's a fantastic product for TV in any case and the NRL should have maintained control and the soul of the game. Some of the scheduling is crazy.
michael holland
Guest
Crowds matter because it is atmosphere & ups the tempo on the game with out it the quality of the game it self suffers
At work
Roar Rookie
Genuine question though, why does the NRL have to compete with other sports. They only compete with the Super League, and to lesser extent rugby for playing talent. When the competition for playing talent is so small, why do we need to continue to try and pay players more and more. Let’s say the NRL took a 30% pay cut because they wanted to favour crowds over TV ratings, I’d argue it would only make a small difference with some players seeking more money elsewhere. But as we see time and again, League will continue to produce talented youngsters that come through, and soon enough we’ve forgotten about the deserters.
Jay Wright
Roar Rookie
There is a lot of truth in his response Barry
Paul
Roar Guru
hi njm, in a nutshell, you've decided the NRL has "sold it's soul" simply because it's partnered with companies you think are inappropriate and with TV channels who don't stream the footy as you like to see it. Can I suggest an alternative to both your concerns. TV rights - make no mistake about it, the NRL is in partnership with it's broadcasters but part of deal for getting the billions it has, is to allow a large degree of latitude in things like the times games are broadcast, the nature and timing of ads etc. That's not "selling your soul" that's trying to come up with a financial deal that ultimately benefits the game. Let's face it, ALL games should be televised ad free but that's simply not going to happen. Sponsors - the NRL hasn't sold it's soul to these companies, either. It has entered into exactly the same type of partnership deal as it has with the TV channels. There's no doubt the NRL will have a serious say in how they use the game in the their advertising and what they'll get in return. The one thing these companies provide is long term stability as well as serious cash. They also provide a legal product that can be used & enjoyed responsibly, so I can't see an issue here. Ditto with the sports advertising - I completely agree it's painful but if it means I get to watch the game I enjoy, that's part of the compromise I'm prepared to reach. "Selling one's soul" in the context of sport, to me means compromising the integrity of the game and none of the examples you've given do that. Spare a thought for the NFL where some ad breaks are timed for television audiences, including half time in the Super Bowl. Now THAT'S selling your soul.